Traces
by Asterxia Sy
Summary: Ice cream delivery!" Pence said, handing out the treats. "Awesome!" Hayner said, taking one. "Hold on, why did you buy four?" "Yeah," Olette piped, "There's only three of us." Pence looked down at the two bars. "Guess I thought there was someone else..."
1. June: Homework

**Traces**

**A Kingdom Hearts Fanfic**

A/N: Because I believe in traces.

I DO NOT own Kingdom Hearts.

**June: Homework**

Hayner stretched his arms high, yawning. It was summer, finally. Making a final face at his stocky English teacher he shoved his final paper into his bag and made for the door, slinging the pack onto his back hastily. In the hallway he joined in the shouts and whoops of joy made by his fellow classmates. He rolled his eyes when a teacher popped his head out of one of the doors, shushing the group. "Shut up! It's summer!" yelled a boy sporting a blue beanie. The teacher glared at the rebellious blonde. "Watch your language young man," He said sternly, pointing a long finger at the boy. "And you're still in school, take that hat off!"

"Hey! It's Seifer, you know?" A big dark-skinned boy interjected, glaring back at the teacher. "It is now summer. School rules no longer apply." Added a white-haired girl standing next to the two. The teacher mumbled something about the lack of respect and disappeared back into the classroom. Hayner laughed. Seifer and his gang had their days.

The stampede of students dragged Hayner to the lobby where he frantically sought out his friends. His grinned, spotting a girl with dark brown hair and a large black haired boy waving to him. "Pence! Olette!" He shouted, battling his way through the crowd. "Finally, we don't have to wear these stupid uniforms anymore!" He said, yanking off his tie when he reached the two. Olette giggled. "You don't like them, do you Hayner?" He scoffed, taking off his bag to stuff the tie inside. "Duh! Who does?" Pence joined the laughter. "Rai and Seifer must, they still have to wear theirs to summer school."

Hayner widened his eyes in disbelief. "Seifer has summer school?" Pence nodded. Hayner laughed. "Sucker. And he's the one who was bragging about not having to take finals!"

"Yeah, 'cause he has to take the whole class over again!" The two boys burst into laughter at Pence's comment. Olette put her hands on her hips. "You're one to talk, both of you almost failed Chemistry!"

Pence put his hand on his chin thoughtfully. "True, but you helped us. That's why we passed."

Olette nodded. "Right. So no more teasing me okay?"

Hayner extended his hand. "Deal. But only if you promise to stop scolding me all the time."

Olette took her friend's hand. "Deal."

"Umm…have a good summer." The three friends turned to the source of the quiet voice to find a short boy wearing a large pointy hat.

Olette smiled. "You too Vivi!"

"Hey Vivi, you know you're welcome to hang with us. Instead of with that bozo." Hayner said, slinging his bag over his shoulder.

"Yeah." Pence added. "You know where to find us, just pop in whenever."

Vivi shifted his hat uncomfortably. "Thanks." He said softly. "I'll keep that in mind."

"All right. Catch you later then!" Hayner said, waving as he led the way out of the building.

* * *

The sky was it's normal pink, orange hue and the sounds of the train could be heard faintly from the school. Hayner stretched again, turning to his friends. "We have to go to the beach this year."

Pence nodded. "Yup, I've been wanting pretzels all spring!" Hayner landed a playful slap on his friend's back. "Geez Pence, is food all you think of?"

Olette stopped walking, a look of confusion on her face. "Why didn't we go last year?"

The two boys stopped, pondering as well. "I dunno." Hayner said. "I can't remember. Actually, I can't remember anything about last summer. Do you?" He asked Pence. The boy shook his head. "Nope."

Olette shook her head. "Hmm, oh well, guess school shoved it out of our minds. C'mon, we still have time before the ice cream shop closes!"

"Great!" Pence said excitedly, running off. "I'll go get us some!"

"Thanks!" Hayner shouted after him. "We'll meet you at the Clock Tower!"

Olette and Hayner sat on the ledge, dangling their feet. "Isn't it bizarre that we can't remember what we did last summer?"

Hayner shielded his eyes from the Twilight sun. "Yeah, but like you said, we probably forgot because of school, no big deal."

"Yeah." Olette said uncertainly. "Hey look! Pence's here!"

Pence appeared around the corner of the clock, his hands gripping bars of Sea-Salt ice cream. "Ice cream delivery!" He said happily handing out the treats.

"Awesome!" Hayner said, taking one. "Hold on, why did you buy four?"

"Yeah," Olette piped, licking her Popsicle. "There's only three of us."

Pence looked down at the two bars still in his hand and shrugged. "Dunno. Guess I thought there was someone else… oh well, more for me!" He finished, grinning as he took the first big bite.

Hayner frowned, watching his two friends licking their ice creams and laughing. Something was wrong, he was sure of it. It was almost as if something was missing, a thought nagging at the back of his mind. He was jarred back to reality when Olette called his name. "Huh? Did you say something Olette?"

Olette rolled her eyes. "I said, your ice cream's melting."

Hayner looked at his hand to see sticky, blue goo oozing onto his hand from the Popsicle stick. "Eww!" He cried, transferring the bar to his other hand and trying to shake away the goo. Olette and Pence burst out laughing at his actions and Hayner's worries dissipated.

* * *

They were in the Usual Spot, as always. Pence was on the couch, Hayner throwing darts.

"She's late." Pence remarked, yawning.

"Yeah." Hayner replied. A dart went thunk on the board. "Wonder what happened?"

"Should we go look for her?"

"Nah." Thunk. "She's probably-" Thunk. "on her way." Thunk. "Dammit! Stupid darts!" Hayner yelled, throwing the darts down in frustration.

Pence laughed. "Maybe Olette's right." He said. "You need more patience."

"What am I right about?" The boys whirled to face Olette carrying a large stack of paper, books and a small laptop.

"What's all that for?" Hayner asked wearily, picking up the fallen darts and sticking them onto the board.

Olette didn't answer but lugged her load over to one of the tables in the corner and dumped it down. The boys watched her curiously as she carefully separated the papers into piles, opened the books and turned on the computer. Finished she put her hands on her hips. "There!" she exclaimed triumphantly.

Hayner and Pence were getting scared. "What?" Pence asked softly. Olette turned to face the two, hands still on her hips, a determined look on her face. Their fear increased twofold. "So, I've decided that this year, we're going to be responsible. This year when we give our report it'll be so brilliant that the teachers will give us an infinite amount of extra credit!" Olette raised her arms in the air triumphantly. The boys gave her a strange look. She sighed, lowering her arms. "Okay, okay, maybe not, but at least we'll have a good grade at the start of the year for once. I'm getting tired of having a B for the first quarter, aren't you?"

Pence was getting ready to say, no he didn't mind at all, in fact he was very happy having anything above an D when Hayner exploded. "I've got it!" He yelled excitedly. Olette and Pence looked at him curiously. "Got what?" Hayner looked like they should have read his mind. "The perfect idea for our summer project."

"Oh! You don't have to worry about that, I've got it all planned." Olette piped, going over to the table and pulling out a book. "We're going to research the history and origin of the Struggle tournament. I thought this would be interesting to you guys. We could start with the founder, general rules and then move to-"

"Boring." Hayner said in a sing-song voice. "C'mon Olette, where's the fun in that? Research is for old men in white lab coats. No, my idea is so much better."

Olette glared at her friend. "Okay Mr. I'm-too-good-for-research, what's your brilliant idea?"

"We're going to…" He paused for a dramatic effect. "capture the ghost of the Mansion!"

Olette smacked her head. Pence's eyes widened with excitement. "Wow Hayner, that's awesome!"

"No it's not! There's no ghosts in the Mansion, ghosts don't even exist!"

Hayner fixed an eye on the only female member of the group. "How do you know?" He said accusingly.

Olette's cheeks glowed a faint pink. "Well, I-"

"Did you research it?"

"I-no, but-"

"Has it been proven?"

"Of course not, but everyone knows-"

"It is a law of nature?"

"Ghosts do not exist!"

Hayner chuckled. "We shall see." He began strutting out of the nook, beckoning his comrades to follow.

Olette sighed as Pence hopped off the couch. "Sometimes I wonder why we follow him." Olette said to her friend.

Pence shrugged. "Isn't it because he's charismatic?"

Olette gigged. "I didn't know you had that vocabulary!"

Pence feigned being hurt. "I did pay attention in English you know…sometimes."

Olette laughed, Pence joined in and together they followed the path their charismatic leader had taken.

* * *

"Move aside freaks, we've got important business to attend to."

Pence and Olette turned the corner to the Sandlot to find Hayner confronting Seifer and his gang. Hayner and Seifer were face-to-face, Rai and Fuu were flanking the blonde bully on either side and Vivi stood cowering behind them. Olette and Pence quickly rushed to support Hayner, adding tension to the area.

"Not until you acknowledge we're the best." Seifer said, grinning mockingly.

Hayner scoffed. "Not on your life! Like anyone would ever do that."

Rai shook an angry fist at Hayner. "Seifer's the best, you know?"

"There is no life form that surpasses the one that is Seifer Almasy." Fuu's monotone voice made Olette shiver.

Seifer nodded approvingly. "That's right. Now say it, or you'll pay."

Pence and Olette shrunk back at Seifer's threat but Hayner only scoffed. "Sure, looks like the Twilight Town Disciplinary Committee needs some discipline themselves!"

Seifer's face developed a red hue. "Why you-" Olette gasped as he raised his fist.

"Stop!"

The squeaked cry echoed through the Sandlot, stunning the six teens. It seemed impossible, but the outburst had most definitely come from behind the infamous Disciplinary Committee…

Vivi stepped out from behind Seifer, holding his hat firmly on his head, a determined look on his face. "Stop it." He said, his tiny voice quivering.

Seifer leaned forward menacingly. "What, did you say?"

Vivi began to lose his nerve. "Well, I-, I-" He glanced around for support, and found it in Olette's encouraging and eager face. Vivi squared his shoulders. "I-, I don't think this is the right time!" The quiver in his voice had increased significantly.

"Why?" Seifer's voice was piercing.

It was obvious that it was taking all of Vivi's strength to keep his confidence. "I think-, I think you should save it for the Struggle match!"

Silence followed. Hayner, Pence and Olette held their breath. Fuu and Rai looked expectantly at Seifer, while he continued to stare at the shaking Vivi. Eventually, a grin broke out on the bully's face. "That's right!" He exclaimed, making everyone jump, "The Struggle match will settle this!" The blonde turned and pointed a long finger at Hayner. "You better start prepping, I want this fight to be somewhat challenging."

Hayner clenched his fists and opened his mouth for a nasty comeback when he felt Pence's firm hand on his shoulder. He relaxed. "All right Almasy. Come August we'll see if you have that much confidence." With that, Hayner strode past the Disciplinary Committee, Pence and Olette quick on his trail. Seifer let them pass with a grunt and signaled Fuu and Rai. With everyone's backs turned, only Vivi saw Olette turn around and mouth "thank you."

* * *

"Stupid Seifer. Always making us look dumb. We'll show him. After August, we'll be the ones ruling the streets!" Hayner mumbled this as he stomped through the forest, Pence and Olette fighting to keep up with his angry strides.

"You have to be careful Hayner!" Said Olette, breathless as she finally reached Hayner's side, "Today could have gotten out of hand if Vivi hadn't helped us!"

"Yeah!" Shouted Pence from behind gasping for air, "Vivi's-" gasp "got a lot of-" gasp "nerve to be-" gasp "standin' up to Seifer-" gasp "you know?" Pence caught up as the other two slowed and stopped.

Hayner scoffed as Pence clutched his knees, panting. "Better slow down Pence, you're starting to sound like Rai."

The comment got the three friends laughing and they set off again at a more leisurely pace towards the mansion.

* * *

"Here we are! Twilight Mansion!" Hayner said, loud like a sports announcer, eagerly running towards the gate. Pence and Olette exchanged looks, smiles and shrugs and rushed after their friend. Sometimes when it came to Hayner, it was just best to play along.

The rusty gate was surprisingly unlocked. Hayner gave it a push and the three cringed at the shriek as the gate swung open. "C'mon!" Hayner whispered fiercely, excitement glinting in his eyes. Pence followed hesitantly while Olette shook her head in annoyance. "Hope he gets tired of this fast." She mumbled, walking after her male friends.

The mansion was dark; walls illuminated by the setting sun. Broken furniture lined the floor, cobwebs decorated the ceiling and dust had laid a thick blanket on the forgotten building. Pence sneezed violently as Hayner peeked into the various rooms on the first floor. Olette gazed in awe at the high ceiling and large window at the back of the house. Looking out she saw what must have been a beautiful garden, many years ago. The shuffle of feet and another sneeze alerted her to Pence's presence. "Can't believe we come here all the time but we've never come inside. It's so majestic, even with everything broken. Like the traces are here to tell us something."

"Yeah." Olette replied, eyes still on the ruined garden. "It feels a little nostalgic, doesn't it? In a mysterious way."

Pence was about to answer when Hayner's voice echoed through the house. "Well, nothing on the first floor, on to the second!" This was followed by the creak and thump of him running up the stairs. Olette and Pence exchanged exasperated looks, and then followed.

Their search was also in vain in the upper rooms. The bedrooms were devoid of any haunting spirits; though in Olette's opinion they weren't thoroughly searched, and the library, where Hayner thought for sure was a prime "ghost hang out" proved to be empty as well. The three stood in front of the last room, hopeful as Hayner put a hand on the doorknob. "Here it goes, either there's a ghost in here, or we suffer Olette's history extravaganza." A light punch from Olette, then the door was open.

The teens were assaulted by a blinding white light as the door swung open. Olette and Hayner were oblivious to everything but the light, but Pence's eyes showed him a white table and white walls lined with colorful pictures drawn with crayon. The image held for just a moment and then, the white light was gone and the three were greeted with a dull room filled with an old, dusty and chipped wooden table and nothing else. Pence rubbed his eyes. "I thought, I just saw more in here." He said quietly, confusion in his voice.

Hayner sighed, "It was probably the sunlight making you see things. C'mon, there's nothing here." He turned and left the room, avoiding Olette's look of "I told you so."

The three left the mansion, Hayner dejected, Olette smug and Pence, pondering. He could have sworn he saw something in that room, not just the table and the pictures, but a person. A boy, whose face he couldn't remember now, but in that moment had been so familiar…

He glanced back at the mansion, focusing on that room, the old, faded curtain swaying gently in the breeze. Suddenly, a memory, pulled from the depths of his self-conscious filled his mind. _Standing there, pointing at that room, a boy next to him… A friend… Blonde hair… Blue eyes… His name was… R- _

"Hey Pence, you coming?"

The shout shattered the picture within his mind. Pence shook his head to clear it, convinced he was imagining things and that he needed food and rest. "Yeah!" He shouted, trotting after his friends, throwing a quick look back at the mansion before disappearing into the woods…

* * *

bzzt DELETED DATA RESTORED. bzzt RESTORATION bzzt AT bzzt 35%. bzzt

* * *

A/N: Done! What did you think? I had a hard time writing this because of all the POV changes, would love some feedback on it! I was trying so hard to finish and post this chapter in June and it seems I just made it! Thanks so much for reading! Reviews are greatly appreciated! ^_^


	2. July: Beach

A/N: Thanks to my reviewers Dancin' Dani 11, Fenrir of the Dark Moon and Midnight Rebel Spy. I really appreciate the support!

By the way, I added a little to the end of chapter one, just so everyone knows! (as of 7/31/09)

**July: Beach**

The sky washed the walls with a pink hue as Olette blinked sleepily. She winced as the twilight sun assaulted her eyes leaving white spots in its wake. She sat up momentarily blinded, groping for the curtain. She found it and was about to draw it closed when she glanced out the window. The orange streets reminded her of something. Standing on the pavement, waving at a friend, calling him(?) her(?) to come down from the room she was now sitting in. But if she'd lived in this house all her life, how could that be true?

She pondered the memory while getting dressed and eating breakfast. Her friends were always praising her amazing memory so she found it hard to believe she'd forget a person, a friend. She wasn't sure if she'd imagined the memory or not. She decided to ask for a second opinion when her mother entered the kitchen.

"Mom?"

"Yes dear?" Olette's mother turned away from the fridge and towards her.

Olette finished her milk and put the cup aside. "Was there anyone else ever living in this house? I mean, before us."

Her mother took out the orange juice and closed the fridge. "No dear, this house has been in our family for a few generations now." She joined Olette at the table. "Why do you ask?"

Olette sighed. "I had sort of a flashback this morning and I'm not sure it was real."

"What was it about?" He mother asked, pouring the juice into a cup.

"Well, Hayner, Pence and I were standing outside our house and waving at the window of my room and someone was inside. It wasn't a member of our family, but I feel like it was a friend. We were telling him or her to come down."

Olette's mother frowned in thought. "I don't remember you having any other close friends besides Hayner and Pence. And we've lived here your whole life so the situation doesn't make sense. Seems to me you just imagined it."

Olette yawned. "Maybe I haven't been getting enough sleep."

Olette's mother gave her a look. "Now don't neglect your sleep honey. I know it's summer, but you need to be well rested!"

Olette nodded, bringing her dishes to the sink. "I know mom. I'll get more sleep, I promise."

"All right then."

Her dishes put away, Olette headed for the door. "I'll be back before seven mom!"

"Okay, be careful and have fun!"

"Bye mom!"

* * *

Olette took a deep breath and sighed happily as she strolled towards the Usual Spot. The air had a slightly salty tang from wafting over the ocean. "Maybe we can go to the beach today!" She thought out loud. She brought a hand back to touch the purse stowed securely in her pocket. "I wonder if we have enough munny…" she mused, pushing aside the worn curtain into the Usual Spot.

The nook was empty when Olette entered. Her mood soured when she saw the mess of papers, photos and toys strewn about the ground and furniture. "Those boys, I don't know why I put up with them." She grumbled, gathering the items and organizing them. After a lot of frustrated mumbling and moving around, Olette was finished. Breathing a sigh of relief and satisfaction, she was about to plop onto the couch when a flash of color under the table caught her eye. She bend down and discovered it was a picture. Reaching under, she grasped the corner and brought it up so she could see it more clearly. The image made her smile. It was a picture taken the year before, right before summer vacation. It showcased her, Hayner and Pence in front of the mansion sporting big smiles. Standing up, she gently placed the photo on the radiator in the back, angling it so the sunlight highlighted its color. Studying the photo more carefully, she frowned. For some reason it seemed that the space behind Pence was strangle empty. For a moment, she thought there was something, or someone who was supposed to fill that space…

"Yo Olette! Earth to Olette!"

"Huh?" Olette jumped when she realized Hayner was waving his hand in her face.

"Jeez." Hayner said, pulling his hand back. "You looked like you had been frozen or something."

Olette shook her head to clear it. "Sorry, I guess I just zoned out."

Hayner scoffed. "Probably comes from reading those books all day."

Olette put her hands on her hips. "Hey! At least I don't try to get through them in one night!"

Hayner was about to counter her comment when Pence burst into the room.

"Hey guys! What's u- whoa…this place is clean…" Pence stood at the entrance, eyes wide, surveying the room.

Olette folded her arms. "That's right. You guys left this place in such a mess it was disgusting! Out of the goodness of my heart, I cleaned it up for you. You guys owe me big."

Hayner and Pence gave each other a glance of guilt. "Sorry Olette." Pence said, rubbing the back of his head.

"Forgiven." Olette said, smiling at Pence. She then snapped her gaze over the Hayner, an expectant look on her face.

Hayner appeared to be thinking, his brows furrowed, one hand on his hip, the other scratching his head. Seconds passed and Olette began tapping her foot impatiently.

Suddenly, Hayner's face brightened and he slapped a fist onto his other palm. "That's it!"

Olette unfolded her arms. The look of impatience on her face was replaced by one of confusion. "What's it?"

"I know how we can make it up to you!"

A small smile appeared on Olette's face. "You do?"

"You do?" Echoed Pence, a look of utter confusion on his face.

"Yup!" exclaimed Hayner. "Drum roll please!" He said, gesturing dramatically towards Pence. The black haired boy seemed to momentarily forget his confusion as he grinned and tapped mock drum roll on the table.

"Olette," Hayner said, pointing at his female friend. "We will make it up to you by…….taking you to the beach!"

Olette clapped her hands laughing. "I was actually thinking we should all go this morning!"

"That's a great idea Hayner!" Pence said, halting his drumming. "I can already taste the pretzels." He continued, looking up wistfully and licking his lips.

Hayner and Olette laughed. "All right then, on to business." Hayner said seriously. "Olette, what's our cash fund?"

Olette reached back and took out the communal purse, dumping its contents on the table. "Let's see…we have…600 munny." She said, stacking the bills in piles.

Hayner stroked his chin in thought. "Okay, a ticket to the beach costs 900 munny, and if we all want 300 munny to spend on pretzels, and we already have 600 munny, that means we need…"

"Hold on a sec." Olette said, quickly doing the math in her head. "3000 munny."

"All right, so that means we all need to make 1000 munny before the last train leaves at 2:00!" Hayner started running out of the nook. "Meet at the station at 1:45 with cash in hand!"

Pence and Olette gave each other knowing looks then headed after him.

* * *

"I wonder what jobs are available." Pence said as he and Olette strolled up to Market Street.

"I don't know. Hopefully someone will need a mailman. I like doing that job."

"Yeah," Pence said. "I hope I don't get stuck busting bees again. I looked like a tomato for a month."

Olette giggled. "I remember that. You kept smearing ointment on your face and glaring at Hayner the whole time."

"Let me tell you, if they have that job available, he can have it!"

The two turned a corner into Station Heights and made their way to the board where people posted available jobs.

"Awesome!" Olette exclaimed, pointing at the first listing. "They need a mailman all right!"

"Let's see what else." Pence said, running his finger along the listings. "Hmm…guess I'll give Poster Duty a try."

"Okay!" Olette said, stretching. "Let's get to work!"

Pence waved goodbye as Olette headed to the post office then started up the hill to Tram Common. On the way he passed a small crowd cheering. He pushed his way through to see Hayner in the middle, keeping a ball afloat with a Struggle club. "You go Hayner!" He cheered, clapping loudly before moving on.

Next to the billboard at Tram Common he found a man with an enormous stack of posters.

"You the new poster guy?" He said, gesturing to Pence.

"That's me!" Pence said, grinning.

The man returned the grin. "Great!" He held up the stack of posters. "I have these advertising the Struggle tournament next month. I'd like you to put them up all over town, starting here. Try to hit as many places as you can, but don't put too many in the same place, or else people will get tired of seeing them. But of course, put them close enough that people will be reminded of the event. You can put them in stores, on windows, on walls, on the billboards, wherever you think they'll attract attention. If you're done before 1:00 I'll give you 1000 munny, how does that sound?"

Pence smiled. If he did this job right, he'd be all set! "Sounds great!"

"Awesome!" said the man, handing the stack of posters to Pence. "It's about 11:00, so that gives you a good two hours! Thanks a lot and good luck!"

"Thanks!" Pence called, already running to the nearest wall.

* * *

"Thank you very much!" Olette said. Pocketing the bills with a flourish as she walked away from the post office. In one hour she had managed to deliver all the letters and earn 600 munny. "Only 400 more to go!" she said cheerfully, walking up to the billboard again. "Now, let's see what else is available!"

Olette's smile turned to a frown when she glimpsed the only available job. "Trash pick up?" she said dejectedly. A sigh followed. "Well, it pays 400 munny so I guess I'll take it!"

Olette slowly made her way up to Tram Common and to the alleyway the job indicated. There she found a kind looking old woman.

"Oh, thank goodness you're here!" The woman said, smiling. "I have all this trash bags here from my tenants but they're too heavy for me to put in the dumpster."

Olette forced a smile. "I'll be happy to help you ma'am."

The old woman bowed deeply. "Thank you so much dear. I'll be inside if you need me."

Olette looked at the massive sea of black and smelly bags in front of her and sighed. "This is turning out to be some day."

* * *

Fifty posters later, Pence's legs started to hurt. One hundred posters later, he felt as if he was walking through quicksand. One hundred fifty posters later, he was afraid his arms were going to fall out of their sockets. Two hundred posters later, Pence thought he was going to die.

Exhausted and incredibly hungry, Pence limped back to Tram Common eyeing each Struggle poster he passed with a fiery hatred. He reached the man, glimpsed the clock and groaned. 1:30.

The man had a sympathetic look on his face as Pence approached him. "Hey, great job! Thanks so much for your help! Unfortunately you didn't make it by 1:00 but you did such a great job I'm gonna give you 900 munny!"

Pence tried to smile but only felt his lips twitching. He took the munny with shaky hands, croaking out a thank you before collapsing in relief on a bench. "100" pant "munny" pant "left" pant "to" pant "go."

* * *

With a grunt, Olette heaved the last of the trash bags into the dumpster and wiped the sweat from her forehead gratefully. "Done!"

"Oh! Thank you so much my dear!"

Olette turned to smile to the old woman who was carrying a large glass of lemonade. "Drink up sweetie, you deserve it!"

The tired girl gratefully took the glass and drained it, feeling her strength return with each gulp. "Thank you." She said, handing the glass back to the woman.

"You're welcome dear. And since you did such a wonderful job, here's 500 munny." The old woman took the bills from her pocket and pressed them into Olette's hands.

Olette gasped. "Oh, I couldn't, the job was only for 400 munny!"

The elderly woman chuckled. "My dear, if there's one thing I learned in life it was never be afraid to accept more munny. Please, you earned it."

Olette smiled. "Thank you."

The munny safely stowed in the purse, Olette was about to head towards Station Plaza when she heard a cry for help coming from Station Heights. Panicked, she quickly turned and ran towards the direction of the sound.

Reaching the top of the hill she stopped to gawk at the scene before her. Hayner and Pence were using all their strength attempting to push a cart filled to the brim with merchandise up the hill.

"Olette!" Hayner cried, his voice straning. "Don't just stand there! Help us!"

Olette snapped out of her reverie and ran to help her friends.

"What happened?" she asked as she took a place beside Hayner and started pushing.

"A man asked if we could help him take this cart to Station Plaza for 600 munny. I needed 500 more and Pence needed 100 so it was perfect! That is, until we started!" Hayner said, grunting under the weight.

"Not that!" Olette said, her own voice straining. She turned her eyes towards Hayner's face, which looked slightly puffier than usual. "What happened to your face?"

Despite being under so much weight Pence laughed. "Hayner got stuck with bee duty today!"

Hayner slammed his foot hard on the ground. "Yeah! And she only paid me 200 munny! Stingy lady!"

Olette giggled then pushed harder on the cart. "How heavy is this thing anyway!" She cried.

Hayner let out a groan as he started sliding back. "Who cares, just push!"

After much, heaving, grunting and sliding, the three managed to get the cart up the hill and to Station Plaza. The man shook each of their hands gratefully and, to their great surprise and delight, paid them each 600 munny. They waved as the man loaded the merchandise on the train then happily put all the munny in the purse…just as the clock struck 2:00.

Silence followed, then Hayner threw his head back and shouted in utter frustration, "ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!"

* * *

The Usual Spot again. The three exhausted and disappointed friends sat eating bars of sea-salt ice cream.

"Aww, I can't believe we missed it." Hayner said sadly, dejectedly licking his ice cream.

"Cheer up Hayner, at least we have more munny for ice cream." Pence said, biting off a huge chunk of the blue bar.

"Yeah, yeah, I guess."

"Hey," Olette said, carefully licking a drop off her Popsicle stick before it landed on her shirt. "Didn't we lose our munny last year, before we got tickets to the beach?"

The two boys sat deep in thought.

"Yeah…I remember that!" Pence said, his eyes lighting up. "Someone stole it right?"

Olette nodded. "That's right. I think one of us tripped and someone swiped the purse then."

Pence's head bobbed in agreement. "Uh huh. Who was the one who tripped anyway?"

"I don't know." Olette said. "Was it you Hayner?"

Pence laughed. "Yeah, it was probably Hayner!"

Hayner voiced a protest. "No it wasn't! I wouldn't be that stupid! Besides, I was at the ticket booth. It had to be one of you two."

Olette shook her head. "Wasn't me!" Pence's head copied Olette's. "Me neither."

Hayner scoffed. "Well, your brains must be messed or something, 'cause it most definitely wasn't me."

Silence followed. Then Pence remarked quietly, "I still think it was Hayner."

Hayner protested again as Olette and Pence laughed. They were so caught up in amusement that they didn't notice the curtain to their hangout being pushed aside…

"Is this a private party or can an old friend join in?"

The three friends turned towards the direction of the voice. Their eyes widened, taking in the boy with the huge grin, blue eyes and spiky hair…

"Sora!"

* * *

RESTORATION bzzt AT bzzt 75%. MERGING bzzt DATA bzzt NOW.

* * *

A/N: Chapter 2 finished! Once again, I managed to finish right on time! *****sigh*** **I need to stop doing that… Hope you enjoyed this chapter! One more to go!


	3. August: Struggle

A/N: Thanks to my reviewers Inspiration of Imagination, Dani-Chan Sprite-Monster –13-and RoxasxAisu4ever. Your support keeps me writing! (Hands out cyber Sea-Salt Ice Cream Bars)

**August: Struggle**

"_Sora!" _

_The keyblade wielder grinned. "Hi guys! Having a good summer?"_

_Four friends, reunited again._

Hayner opened his eyes, smiling at the memory. Almost a month had gone by since Sora had arrived. The four had spent the time inseparable, Sora alternating between staying at Pence and Hayner's houses. Summer had never been so good, but like all things, it had to come to an end. Sora was heading home in two days and school started the day after.

But before summer ended, there was one thing left that had consumed Hayner over the past week. One last goal that had taken over his mind…

The Struggle Tournament.

* * *

"Ow!" Hayner cried, flying backwards, hitting the mat. He grunted, slamming his club down on the ground in frustration, glaring up at the spiky haired boy in front of him.

Sora shrugged. "I told you to block."

Over the last week the Usual Spot had transformed into a not-so-elaborate training center, consisting of a few hastily thrown down mats and a pile of Struggle clubs they had begged off the Struggle coordinator.

Sora had graciously offered to act as Hayner's Struggle coach to the relief of Olette and Pence. Watching Hayner fall under Sora's intense instruction was much more rewarding than the cuts and bruises they sported when they were Hayner's targets for practice.

"I did block!" Hayner grumbled, getting to his feet.

"More like flailed." Pence said under his breath. Olette stifled a giggle.

They were silenced with a harsh look from Hayner. Sora gave them a sympathetic look then assumed a fighting stance. "All right, come at me again."

Hayner's face radiated renewed determination as he charged Sora with a yell. There was a loud whack of wood on wood and both boys were thrown back on the mats laughing.

Olette and Pence joined in as the fighters got up and shook hands. "I think that's enough training for now!" Sora said, clapping Hayner on the back. "You've gotten a lot better!"

Hayner beamed. "Thanks! You're a pretty good teacher!"

It was Sora's turn to beam as he gathered the Struggle clubs and put them in the corner. "You're a good student!" He replied, stretching. "Now what guys?"

Everyone took a few moments to think, then, Olette spoke up. "Why don't we go see if they need any help with the Struggle preparations? Maybe they'll even let you guys spar on the arena!"

"Great idea!" Sora said, already heading out the curtain. "C'mon!"

Laughing, everyone followed.

* * *

"We're sure glad to have your help!"

Hayner tried to smile but grunted instead as he and Sora heaved the large poles holding a huge banner proclaiming the tournament. Olette and Pence rushed forward to secure the poles and they four stood back to admire their handiwork.

"That should be it!" The Struggle coordinator smiled. "You're welcome to practice some more if you'd like!" Sora gave Hayner an exhausted look, which made Olette giggle.

"Thanks sir, but I think they'd like to save it for tomorrow." She said between giggles.

The man nodded knowingly. "Of course, of course, I'm looking forward to seeing you boys in action tomorrow!"

Hayner and Sora were already limping away.

"Well, it's getting late!" Pence said, yawning as they walked away from the Sandlot. "You better rest up for the big day!"

The two boys nodded, stopping to gaze at a Struggle poster (that Pence had painstakingly put up a month ago) with determination. Hayner put a hand on Sora's back. "You and I have to make the finals, that way, no matter who wins, we all split the prize!"

Hayner and Sora tapped elbows together. "It's a promise." Sora replied.

"You two are gonna clean up!" Pence said, happily.

"Go get 'em!" encouraged Olette.

After quick goodbyes, they all went their separate ways, Hayner feeling a strange sense of Dejavu…

Hayner woke with a start. "Was that a dream?" He mumbled, rubbing his head and looking around his room. His eyes fell on the Struggle club lying on the floor and his eyes widened. "Finally, Struggle day."

After inhaling breakfast, to his mother's obvious dislike, Hayner rushed to the Usual Spot, club clutched tightly in his hand.

There he was greeted with an overly excited Sora, an exhausted-looking Pence and a sympathetic Olette, patting Pence's back kindly.

Sora jumped up as Hayner burst into the room and quickly went to hold the curtain open. "C'mon you guys! The earlier we get there, the sooner we know the order of the matches!"

Olette stopped patting to glare at Sora. "Give us a minute! You woke poor Pence up so early he can barely stand!"

Pence let out a long, drawn out yawn. "Go on ahead you guys. We'll catch up."

Hayner huffed impatiently. "You can sleep later! We all have to go together! That's what friends do!"

Olette opened her mouth to argue but was interrupted by a loud yawn from Pence. "Okay, okay, I'm up!" He stood up, dragging Olette with him. "Besides, if I sleep, we'll miss the match!"

* * *

The area around the Sandlot was packed with cheering people. The four pushed and shoved their way to the front, Sora and Hayner joining the other contestants and Olette and Pence finding choice spots in the crowd.

"Way to be late." Seifer said smugly as the two boys approached.

Hayner geared up to retaliate but Sora put a hand out to stop him. "Don't worry, he won't be talking so big after the matches."

Hayner shrugged off Sora's hand and pointed his club at Seifer. "Yeah Almasy, today's your lucky day. Today, you get the privilege of losing to us."

Seifer looked like he was about to shout back but was interrupted by the Struggle coordinator.

"Quiet everyone! Could I have your attention please?" The round man said, smoothing his brown hair back. The crowd grew silent. "Ehem! Welcome ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, to Twilight Town's 25th annual Struggle Tournament!"

He allowed the crowd to roar in excitement for a moment before holding up his hands for silence. "Thank you. And now, please give a warm welcome to our reigning champion, Seifer Almasy!"

Seifer strutted onto the arena and the crowd cheered loudly, drowning out the "boos" made by Hayner and his friends. Above it all Rai's voice could be heard yelling, "Hey! Cheer louder! It's Seifer you know?"

Once again the coordinator held his hands up. The crowd quieted. "Now, before we begun the tournament, I'd like to give a refresher of the rules. Each contestant will be given possession of 200 orbs. The goal is for one contestant to gain control of the other contestant's orbs before time runs out! And now, without further ado, let's start the first match: Vivi versus Rai!"

"Huh?" Hayner said, staring at the two as they made their way to their places on the arena. "I didn't know Rai was going to compete, or Vivi!"

Sora shrugged. "Maybe Seifer wanted some easy wins."

Hayner scoffed. "You probably got that right."

Up on the arena, Rai pointed the club at a slightly shaking Vivi. "Yo! I'm gonna win, you know?"

Vivi only nodded.

"Ready boys?" The coordinator said, from the side. "STRUGGLE!"

Rai let out a yell and charged Vivi who seemed to be too scared to move. His yellow eyes got wider and wider as Rai got closer and closer…

"Vivi! Move!" Olette shouted.

Her cry made Vivi jump and he dived out of the way of Rai's rampage just in time. Shaken, he got up to find himself being rushed by Rai again. Olette cried out again but instead of dodging, Vivi lifted his club high and braced himself for the impact.

The thwack echoed throughout the Sandlot and silence fell over the crowd. A grunt was heard and then, to everyone's shock, Vivi threw Rai to the ground, releasing a shower of red orbs.

A pause, then the crowd exploded in cheers. The coordinator jumped up excitedly. "Well! I don't believe it! Ladies and gentlemen, the winner of this match is Vivi!"

Vivi stood in shock as Rai got up grunting. "That wasn't fair, you know?!" He yelled as he limped off the arena. The cheers continued as Vivi continued to stay frozen in front of where Rai had fallen, red orbs surrounding him. In the end, the Struggle coordinator had to drag him off.

"Wow!" Olette said, clapping. "Vivi's gotten a lot tougher!"

"Yeah," Pence agreed. "I wonder what inspired him?"

"Or who." Sora said, picking up his club.

"Yeah, who…" Hayner said softly, fingering his club.

Once the arena had been cleared, the coordinator spoke. "That was quite an electrifying first match! And now, our newcomer Sora versus Hayner!"

Olette and Pence cheered extra loud as the two boys took their places on the arena. Hayner smiled at his friend before assuming a fighting stance. "Ready Sora?"

Sora grinned and copied Hayner's stance. "You bet!"

"STRUGGLE!"

Sora moved lightning fast and Hayner looked around frantically before crying out as Sora struck him from the side. Blue orbs erupted onto the field and Sora rushed around collecting them before facing Hayner again. Hayner pushed himself up, a determined look on his face before rushing Sora with a yell.

Sora blocked and moved to slash Hayner on the side again but he quickly dodged and thrust Sora from behind. Sora grunted as the club impacted, red orbs flying around the arena. Hayner let out a whoop of triumph, gathering the orbs.

In Hayner's brief moment of victory, Sora recovered amazingly fast and hit Hayner with a spinning attack as he collected the last of the orbs. Hayner flew in the air then landed with a smack on the sandy arena, red and blue orbs raining down on him.

Once again, the Sandlot filled with cheers. "Amazing! What a victory from Sora!"

Sora rushed over to Hayner, extending a hand to help him up. Hayner ignored the hand for a moment, staring at the sky. "Aww man, I can't believe I lost!" Pushing away Sora's hand he got up, brushing the sand off his clothes.

Sora smiled. "I had a lot of fun fighting you."

Hayner grinned, then put on a serious expression. "Well I didn't, wise guy."

They both laughed, clapping each other on the shoulder.

On the side, Pence and Olette smiled at each other in relief.

A few minutes later, Sora found himself facing an unlikely foe: Vivi.

"All right folks! It's time for the third match of the tournament: Sora versus Vivi!"

Vivi looked as scared as ever and Hayner felt sorry for him as he watched Sora take his fighting stance. "Go easy on him." He said softly.

Going easy on someone didn't seem to be in Sora's fighting style however, as Vivi fell in a sea of blue orbs in a matter of minutes. They shook hands politely, Vivi beaming despite his loss, clearly happy to take third place. Sora waved at Hayner, Pence and Olette happily as helpers rushed to clear the arena for the final battle.

Seifer jumped onto the arena eagerly and Hayner couldn't resist taunting him before he faced Sora. "In a hurry to lose?" He shouted. Seifer shot a glare at him then turned his attention to Sora. "There's only room for one up here!"

Sora merely shrugged and took his stance for the third time.

"All right boys, keep it clean! You're the top bracket! Ladies and gentlemen, our final match: Sora, our underdog hero versus Seifer, our defending champion! May the best man win; STRUGGLE!"

Sora and Seifer charged each other with equal speed, colliding and sending blue and red orbs around the arena. Once the orbs had settled, the crowd gasped as Sora and Seifer stood, clubs locked together, each trying to overpower the other. Beads of sweat dripped down both their foreheads as they exerted all their strength. To Hayner's horror, Sora grunted and his feet slipped an inch on the sand.

"C'mon Sora! You can do it!" He yelled, his shouts soon echoed by Pence and Olette. The support gave Sora the strength he needed and with a cry he heaved, lifting Seifer off the ground. A slash of the Struggle club and Seifer fell, hard onto the sand, blue orbs tumbling off the arena into the crowd.

"I don't believe it! What an unlikely turn of events! Ladies and gentlemen, I give you this year's Struggle champion: Sora!"

Hayner, Pence and Olette clambered onto the arena, attacking Sora with hugs and screams of delight. Sora grinned, laughing with his friends as they gave each other big and dramatic high fives. The Struggle coordinator approached, holding the Champion belt and the large, trophy bearing four branches, each topped with a different colored orb. "I proudly present these to you. Congratulations Sora!"

Sora raised the trophy high, the twilight sun catching its side, making it gleam.

* * *

The silence atop the clock tower was calming after the cheers from the crowd at the Sandlot. Sora held up the trophy, admiring the orbs before plucking out the yellow one and throwing it to Olette.

Olette gasped, catching the small yellow orb in her lap.

Hayner casually reached out and caught his red one and Pence yelped, barely catching the green one.

Finally, Sora took the blue one, holding the orb out to catch the light. "As promised."

"Thanks a ton, Sora!" Pence said, copying him.

"One more treasure for us to share." Hayner said, doing the same. Olette and Sora copied them, taking a moment to enjoy the beauty.

Olette reached behind her into the cooler they had brought up. "I've got a present too…for all of us!" She held up four ice cream bars.

"Awesome!" Pence said, reaching over to grasp one of the bars. Hayner laughed, taking one as Sora stood to get one from Olette…

"Sora!" Hayner screamed, watching in horror as the boy lost his balance on the clock tower and fell forwards. Quickly he jumped up and reached to grasp his friend's hand. His fingers closed around Sora's and then, darkness surrounded him.

Hayner was alone. Trapped in black. He had never been more scared in his life.

He cried out, screamed the names of his friends, over and over until his voice was hoarse. He ran, ran further and further into the darkness until his legs couldn't move anymore. He listened, listened so desperately that the silence stifled him and began to sound like screaming and wailing and he covered his ears and screamed and wailed with it.

He didn't know how much time had passed. He wasn't even sure time was passing. It was swallowing him up. Everything that made him Hayner was drifting away…

"It's hard isn't it? To keep yourself here."

Hayner bolted. He had heard something. To him, that voice was the only thing that told him he was still alive. "Who's there?"

"Over here!" Hayner turned towards the direction of the voice and shielded his eyes. A light. The desperation made his legs move and he ran, faster and faster towards the light. It grew bigger and bigger until suddenly, he emerged from the darkness and fell on the warm dusty ground of the Sandlot.

He shivered, relief filling his whole being, a few tears lingering at his eyes. The sound of footsteps and from the ground Hayner glimpsed black and gray shoes, a red stripe running down from the top. A hand appeared to help him up, a black and white warmer on two fingers and a checkered wristband…

Hayner stood up, eyeing the mysterious boy. He had blonde hair that spiked up, a warm smile and blue eyes just like Sora's. Hayner couldn't remember ever seeing him but there was something so familiar about him, like he should know him, but didn't. The boy looked around the area, a look of nostalgia on his face.

"So many memories here."

Hayner looked closer at the boy. "Do I know you?" He asked carefully.

The boy looked at him and smiled. "You should. But it's okay if you don't remember. Here," He reached into his pocket and pulled out a key chain, three circles making a sort of face dangling on the end. "Take this." He held it out towards Hayner. "It might help you find your way."

Hayner took it hesitantly. "What do you mean?"

The boy shrugged. "Who knows? Maybe it'll open a door?" He started walking away.

"Hey wait!" Hayner cried, following him. "What am I supposed to do know?"

The boy turned around, grinning. "C'mon Hayner! You're our leader right? I'm sure you'll figure something out." And with that, he was gone.

Hayner turned, grumbling about ambiguity and stopped abruptly at the sight in front of him. There was a door, in the middle of the Sandlot. Remembering the boy's words, he approached it, key chain in hand.

"How am I supposed to open a door without a key _on_ my key chain." He mumbled. As if answering him, he felt a cold object in the same hand. Looking down he gasped, there _was _a key on the key chain. "Dang this is creepy." He breathed. He looked at the keyhole and gulped. "Guess there's nothing else to do but move forward!" Before he started thinking about it again, he quickly thrust the key into the lock and turned.

The door opened with a click and Hayner was blasted by a burst of light. "Well," He said, "It's better than the darkness." He took a deep breath, trying to calm himself. "Here goes!"

Clutching the key tightly, he walked into the light.

* * *

"Sora!" Hayner had screamed. Olette looked up from the ice cream bars, her eyes widening in terror at the sight in front of her. Sora was falling off the clock tower.

She stood up frantically as Hayner reached for him. "Hang on!" She cried, running to help, but she never reached them.

She was standing just under the clock tower, the balcony just before the ticket booth. Frantically she looked up, but glimpsed no one on the familiar ledge. "Where is everyone?" She voiced out loud, looking around. She was alone; the far away sounds of a train whistle her only companion. Strangely, she felt no fear and found herself meandering towards the balcony, staring into the bright setting sun.

"Beautiful isn't it?"

Olette whirled to face the speaker. A boy about her age, piercing blue eyes, swept spiky blond hair wearing a black and white checkered jacket and khaki colored pants.

She watched with mild curiosity as he came to stand next to her, admiring the view. "Yeah." She said, eyes still on him. Somehow she felt connected to this boy and felt if she gave it time, the situation would explain itself.

They stood in comfortable silence for a few moments, Olette realizing how beautiful the twilight landscape actually was. She was so used to it that its beauty had eluded her.

"It's so different from the darkness." The boy had spoken again.

"Darkness?" Olette asked.

The boy nodded. "But, thankfully, there's always some trace of the light." He threw something to her.

Olette caught it and held it up. It was Sora's blue orb. Confusion swept through her. "Hey this- How did you- Who are you?"

The boy smiled. "Let's just say, an old friend." He motioned towards the orb. "Keep that. It may take you somewhere." He started heading towards the station.

"Wait! Where are you going?" Olette shouted after him.

"I have a train to catch! Nice seeing you Olette."

"Nice seeing you too…" Olette trailed off. Still in a daze she turned, holding up the orb to the sun. The light danced off of it, mesmerizing her and she felt as if she was being taken away…

* * *

Pence scratched his head in confusion. He furrowed his eyebrows as his poor brain tried to piece together the events that had occurred mere minutes before. He remembered hearing screaming, Hayner and Olette jumping up frantically, but before he knew what was going on he had found himself standing on the beach.

"My brain hurts." He said finally, sitting down in the sand with a thump. He didn't realize someone was coming up to him until an ice cream bar was shoved in his face.

"Want a brain freeze then?"

Pence, who had finished his ice cream first on the clock tower and had been eyeing the others in Olette's hand, took the bar gratefully. He took a huge bite before turning to face his kind benefactor.

He spoke without hesitation. "I know you, don't I?"

The boy took a seat next to Pence, licking his own bar. "Yeah, you do."

Happy with the confirmation, Pence turned once again to his ice cream. "Thought so."

"Why do you know me?" The boy asked, a glint in his blue eyes.

Pence shrugged. "I just do. Somehow. I don't remember but, I'm sure I know you from somewhere."

The boy chuckled. "Funny how that works huh?" He turned to look at Pence who had finished his bar. He held his up. "Wanna trade?"

Pence nodded eagerly, earning another chuckle out of the boy as they swapped, full bar for Popsicle stick.

Another chunk of the bar gone and Pence decided he had a question of his own. "So, why do I know you?"

The boy smiled. "That Pence, is something you have to figure out for yourself." He stood up, Pence's eyes following his movements. "I'll give you a hint." He flipped the Popsicle stick like a coin, letting it land in the sand. "Follow the signs, maybe they'll lead you somewhere." Then he set off in the direction the stick was pointing. "See you later, friend."

Pence watched him go, feeling slightly anxious. A part of him told him to run after him, another told him to take his time. Struggling with himself he realized he had finished the bar. Pocketing the stick, he stood and started following the boy's footsteps.

* * *

They all found themselves at a train station. So they took a train, hoping it would take them home. When the doors opened to the familiar station, they were surprised to see each other.

"Pence! Olette!" Hayner cried, rushing towards his friends. "Boy, am I glad to see you guys!"

"Yeah!" Olette said, cheeks flushed. "What happened to me was just weird!"

"Uh huh." Pence nodded. "That boy was a little funny."

Hayner narrowed his eyes. "Wait, you saw a boy too?"

"Yeah! He gave me a Popsicle!" He exclaimed, pulling out the stick in his pocket. "See, huh?"

All three friends stared at the object in Pence's hand. It wasn't a stick. It was part of a picture, ripped from a whole. But the most mysterious part was, they knew that picture well.

"Why do you have that?" Hayner asked. "I thought Olette put it in the Usual Spot! And why is it ripped?"

Pence lifted his arms in exasperation. "I don't know! I didn't touch it! And why would I rip myself out of the picture?"

"Hold on!" Olette said, reaching into her pocket. "Hey! The orb's gone!" She said, bewildered, pulling out another ripped piece. "Now I have my piece of the picture!" She grabbed the piece from Pence and fit the two together. "See?"

"Weird…" Hayner said, absentmindedly reaching into his own pocket for the key chain. "What's this?" He murmured, fingers gripping paper. He pulled it out and gasped.

"What?" Pence asked, staring at the frozen Hayner in shock.

"Let me see that." Olette said, grasping the paper. She fit the pieces together and gasped as well.

All three pointed to the fourth figure.

"It's that boy!"

* * *

Sora was in the Usual Spot when they arrived. He turned worried blue eyes to them as the curtain was swept away and they barged in.

"Hey! Where have you been?"

They ignored him, only rushed to the back of the room to find the old picture gone.

"Where'd it go?" Olette exclaimed, looking frantically around on the floor.

"I don't know, but my brain hurts again." Pence said, sinking down on the couch.

"What happened guys?" asked a very confused Sora.

Hayner reached into his pocket and pulled out the picture, handing it to Sora. "This, we found it but we don't know who that guy is."

Sora's took the picture and the moment he glanced at it, his eyes grew wide. "Roxas." He whispered.

"Huh?" Hayner said, moving closer to the boy.

"It's Roxas."

Bzzt RESTORATION AT 100%.

"Roxas." Hayner whispered the word slowly, like trying to unearth a deep and precious memory.

"Yeah, Roxas! That's what that boy's name was!" Pence exclaimed excitedly, jumping up.

"Roxas, our friend, Roxas…" Olette said, barely a whisper.

"Roxas?" Pence said the name hopefully, like he was expecting him to answer.

"Where is he?" Olette asked, her green eyes full of questions.

"Yeah, where is he?" Hayner bolted up; then turned his fierce brown eyes to Sora. "You know, don't you?"

Sora averted his gaze. Hayner stormed over to the spiky haired boy. "Where is he?" He yelled angrily, grabbing Sora's shirt with both hands. He continued to glare at the boy, ignoring Pence and Olett's cries of protest. "Anwer me!" He cried, shaking Sora violently.

Tense silence followed. Then something in Sora's ocean eyes made Hayner let go. The three friends watched in shock as Sora dropped to his knees, tears running down his face.

"They remember you. They remember you."

_They remember me._

* * *

Hayner stood on the beach, watching the waves drag shells away from their warm sanctuaries in the sand, and to places unknown. To some it may have seemed cruel, but to Hayner, it seemed like a release. Those shells were free, free to explore and discover. He felt like those shells, free to explore the depths of his mind and discover memories that had been tucked away in the cobwebs of his being. Memories of his best friend, memories he now swore to protect, no matter what.

"_We'll always be together, right?" _

Not all of Sora's story made sense. But, he knew it was true. The blue eyes said so, as well as the tears that fell from them. Hayner reached into his pocket smiling as his fingers touched the glossy paper. He lifted it up, his heart clenching in remorse and guilt as his eyes lingered on the figure on the left, smiling, unburdened, free.

_"I doubt we can always be together."_

Hayner turned his eyes to the horizon, the sun sparkling on the water's surface, the twilight painting the sky orange, pink and yellow, the clouds glowing amber as the water stretched on and on, never ending, unstoppable, just like Roxas' fate.

_"But what matters is not how often we see each other, but how often we think about each other."_

The picture fell into the sand, accompanied by fresh tears. His head lowered, he cried, unashamed and strong.

He looked up when he felt two hands on his shoulders comforting him. He looked up into the faces of Olette and Pence, as tearful as he.

Pence smiled. Olette bend down, rescued the picture from the sand and nodded, handing the photo to Hayner.

The three friends stared at the photo. The truth. The way it was supposed to be.

"Looks like our summer is officially over."

* * *

A/N: I really love Roxas and his story really impacted and touched me. After beating Kingdom Hearts II, I knew I had to write something for Roxas. This is what came out. I strongly believe that memories are never forgotten, even if they were supposedly simulated. If Roxas' memories were created, why couldn't Hayner, Pence and Olette's be restored? Anyway, this was my tribute to Roxas; hope you enjoyed it! Thanks so much for reading! ^_^


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